Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Fastweb will donate access to the WOW FI network to students. The beneficiaries will be identified by school directors among the families most in difficulty

Milan, 23 April 2020 – Five hundred free internet connections for as many children in fragile conditions enrolled in 12 comprehensive schools in Milan. Fastweb also responded to the appeal launched by the Mayor Giuseppe Sala and the Councilor for Education Laura Galimberti to support the schools in Milan that have started distance learning methods with donations of devices or connections. If the feedback is positive, the number could be expanded up to a thousand. This is an important collaboration between public and private made possible also thanks to the support of the Department of Digital Transformation led by Roberta Cocco.

The connections will be made available to schools which, based on a questionnaire filled out by school managers at the beginning of the Coronavirus emergency and returned to the offices of the Education Department, had reported a greater need. The principals will then identify the beneficiary students and distribute their credentials and passwords to access the WOW FI - Fastweb, the network based on the principle of sharing access to the home wi-fi connection made available by the community of Fastweb customers . The accesses will be usable until June 30th, with the possibility of extension or reactivation. The parent will be responsible for the correct use of the service.

“The schools - declares the councilor for Education and Instruction Laura Galimberti - were the first to suffer the consequences of the spread of the health emergency linked to the Coronavirus, but if on the one hand the closure of the institutes has pushed us to imagine alternatives, on the anything else risks exacerbating the differences between children. For this reason we immediately committed ourselves to identifying the IT and digital needs of families, in order to guide interventions. We proceeded to deliver to the schools the devices made available by companies and associations and we therefore welcome with favor and enthusiasm the important donation from Fastweb which will allow the children most in difficulty to continue learning even with schools closed and for us to be their most neighbors".

“Even in an emergency situation like the one we are experiencing, we welcomed with extreme pleasure the invitation from the Municipality of Milan to all work together to restore, as far as possible, through digital, normal conditions for our children and guarantee all students, without exception, to continue their school career while also restoring a bit of serenity to their families - declares Alberto Calcagno, CEO of Fastweb -. In fact, focusing on the education of the new generations is the best form of investment for the future and we are very proud to have the opportunity to give our support right here in Milan, the city where we were born and which, thanks to our commitment, is the most of Italy and among the first in Europe".

The Municipality will continue to collect donations through the exploratory notice published at this link and aimed at foundations, companies and third sector bodies.